Gang-drill for cutting coal.



D. B. STAUFT.

GANG DRILL FOR CUTTING COAL.

I APPLICATION man Nov. 9. |916.

SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented June 18,

llnllmlfmnlqnlnj Illlllllllll lIlUI WITNESSES D. B. STAUFT.

GANG DRILL FOR CUTTING COAL.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 9. 1916.

15270331 Patented Jun@ 18, 1918.

2 SMEETS--SHEEI' 2.

A TTRNEYS vUNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL B. STAUFT, 0F UNIONTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

GANG-DRILL FOR CUTTING COAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June1s,`1918.

Application led November 9, 1916. Serial No. 130,313.

To all whom z't may concern.'

' Be it known that I, DANIEL B. STAUFT, a citizen of the United States, and'a Iresident of Uniontown, in the county of-Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Gang-Drill for Cutting Coal, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates tocoal mining machinery and has articular reference to drilling devices for oring a plurality of holes simultaneously in definite spaced relation for the purpose of weakening the natural structure for subsequent reduction by blasting or other suitable means,.or for the pur- .rooms suiiicient in number to furnish ventilation, haulage roads, and working places for a sufficient number of Workmen t0 mine or load the quantity of coal desired, the work being laborious and sometimes diilicult or dan erous. The amount of labor anddanger 1 int ese operations is reduced according to the thoroughness of the reliminary work of undercutting, overcuttlng, or shearing, such preparations being necessary in order to provide at least one free or open end or side to the face of the coal before proceeding with itsexcavation, considerable pick or hand work being required ordinarily to prepare the workin face for the next undercut, overcut, or s ear.

Among the objects of'this invention therefore is to provide a machine to reduce or largely eliminate this pick or hand work by drilling overhead, across the working face, a row of holes near the roof and approximately three inches apart and as deep as the undercut is to be made, so that the force ofthe blast, if a blast is used, is rendered most effective and least dangerous to the operators and whereby, furthermore, the greatest eiliciency or buckling eiiect of the coal is accomplished, laying it down on the floor of the working place, ready to be loaded and delivered from the mine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable device adapted to be selfpropelled or otherwise along a pair of rails or track, said portable device serving/to carry drilling apparatus and the, power means for operatin the same in a relatively chea and hi hly et cient manner.

Wl)th the oregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts herein de-` scribed and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine, parts being in section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same looking in the direction of movement of the l machine;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional detail on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the adjustable saddle and parts associated directly therewith Fi 5 is a horizontal sectional detail on y the l1ne 5 5 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 6 is a sectional detail on the line 6-6 of Fi 4.

Reirrin now more particularly to the drawings, show a truck comprising a platform 10 and supporting wheelsll adapted to be transported by any suitable means carried either upon the platform or elsewhere along a pair of rails 12.

On the front end of the platform is supported in rigid position, as by bolts 13 operating through a flange 14, a vertical telescopic mast the lower stationary portion of which is indicated at 15 and of a tubular nature., The lower end of this cylinder 15 has a pipe connection 16 with a fluid pump 17 of any well known or suitable nature carried also upon the platform. The upper portionl cylinder 15 under the force of luid pumped into the bottom.` of said cylinder. A stulling box 19 is providedto make a fluid-tight closure for the cylinder and through which the piston 18 slides. l

The upper end'of the piston -18 is threaded for connection with'a head plate 20 having a circular flange 20 lying in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the piston. This head plate is screwed tightly upon the uppeI` end of the piston and locked by means of la lock nut 21. The central portion of 'thisl member is provided with a central upwardly projecting hub 22 having external screw threads and an internal hemispherical seat 23.-

24 indicates a. T-head having a downwardly projectingl threaded shank 25 extending through e centerof an adjusting head 26 which is locked in place by a combined baflland nut 27 and 28. This ball 27 is seated in the hemispherical seat 23 in the hub of the head plate 'and is lsecured in such vposition by means of a cap nut 29 secured upon the threads of the hub 22. By this means the T-head and parts securedthereto are locked tothe upper end of. the piston 18,

but permitted aA considerable amount of an gular movement with respect to a horizontal plane. A plurality of adjusting screws 30 are tapped through the rim of the adjusting head 26, the lower rounded ends of which bear againstthe upper surface of the llange 20. hand wheel 31 for manipulating it. By means of these screws, the head 24 and plate V26 are adjusted into any desired angular position and locked steadily in such position.

I provide what I term va carrier `frame,- the same comprising three parts, first,.apair of arms 32 having their inner 'ends internally threaded and screwed upon the T-head 24 and extending thence in'opposite directions. The outerv endof each arm 32 is reduced in diameter land projected through a plate 33 and locked in position by means of a nut 34 tapped upon the extreme end of such arm. A lock nut 35 is 'tapped into the outer vend of each arm and serves to carry an adjustable jack screw 36, to the outer face of which is swiveled a contact head 37. Said plates 33 constitute the second main part of the carrier.` Thirdly, the carrier comprises a pair of arallel bars 38 vsimilar to each other and E ends'in the upper portions of said plates` 33. These vbars 38, lie on opposite sides of they vertical plane ofthe arms 32 andin a horizontal plane above the horizontal plane of said arms. Jack screws 36 are adapted to be rotated by hand spikes or the like for the purpose of lockingthe ends of the carrier frame against the adjacent walls of the entry indicated at C, Fig. 2. This operation rier frame by means ofthe hydraulic pump Each of these screws carries a xed at their oppositeA comprises a body 40 of any suitable rigid construction through which the bars 38- project and which'body, furthernforekhas slidable engagement at 41 upon the upper portion of the T-head 24 and arms 32 extendin therefrom. As will be noted espe.-

. cially- 1n Fig. 2, the arms lie flush with the upper portion of the head 24, whereby there will be no obstruction to the adjustment of the saddle along the carrier frame. The bars 38 are suiliciently rigid to' prevent tilting movement of the saddle with respect to the carrier frame. This saddle also includes a substantially vertical wall 42 and a rearwardly projecting bracket 43 vsecured to the lower end of the said wall. The top of the saddle is' indicated at 44 and supports a pair of parallel bearing blocks 45 extending longitudinally of the carrier frame and spaced parallel from each other. The bracket and..

wall 42 of the saddle are 4extended or located rearwardly with respect to the carrier.

frame sufficiently far to clear the adjusting head 26 and the parts coperating therewith, see Fig. 1, when the saddle is adjusted `from, one endfof said lframe to the other.

p The body 40'of the saddle is formed with a vertically projectin Y' web 46 which lies in the vertical plane of ghe axis of the arms 32 and hence midway between the ,bars 38. Any suitable' means may be provided to adjust the saddle lengthwise of the frame or it may be moved' by hand to any' desired position and `then secured by some suitable clutching or grippin means such, for instance, as is mdica comprisin a pair of sleeves 47 embracing the severa bars 38, each sleeve havinga .sleeves "47 are caused to draw the bars 38 toward each other, causing thesame to grip tightly against the edges `of the holes in the 1 saddle body through which they extend. By this means the saddle is locked in any desired position.

51 indicates a plurality of standard make threaded shafts or feed bars which coperate with corresponding threads formed in clamp bearings attached to feed bar boxinl Fig.- 5, the same ing (well known but not shown in draw# l ings) secured in place by boxing 45. Each of these shafts is 'adapted to be rotated in said bearings by meansrof a gear 52 'located inthe space between said bearing blocks 45 and'mounted on a hollow internally lugged shaft (not shown in drawings, but well known to coal drill makers) the lug slidably engagingla shallow slot or groove cut lengthwise in t e surface of the feed bar from end to end of same in the fashion adopted by the drill makers and rotating the same; the hollow shaft, feed bar and feeder clamp (not shown) being no part of this invention.

Each of these shafts has at its forward end a chuck 53 which carries a coal drill 54 of any suitable type and sufliciently long to make the deslred undercut adjacent the ceiling R of the entry. I show four of these shafts and drills operating in a gang in the same plane, but it is to be understood that I l do not wish to be limited to this particular undercut is to be made.

number or arrangement of such devices. The several sleeve nuts 52 include gear pinions 53, between each two of which is interposed an idler gear 54 supported or journaled upon lshort shafts 55 secured to the bearing blocks 45. The central idler 54', however, is provided with an extended shaft .55 which carries at its rear end a pinion 56 meshing with a large gear 57 driven from any' suitable source of power, such as an electric motor M, shown assupported upon the bracket 43. B this means all of the shafts 51 and drills secured thereto are adapted to be rotated simultaneously in the same direction and at any desired speed.

With the mechanism constructed as above suggested, the operation of the machine may be briefly summarized as follows: With the proper approach being constructed and the truck in position to be propelled either by a self-contained power means carried upon the rear end thereof or otherwise, the'drilling apparatus will be projected forwardly adjacent to the, place where the next By means of the pump 17, the drills will be elevated as may be necessary to bring themf into `the plane .desired and the drills will be fixed in' such -plane by manipulation of the screws 30 and secured more rigidly by tightening jack screws 36 against walls of Working place. The saddle 39 will then be positioned along the carrier frame at any desired place laterally of the entry or line of action and locked in place on the frame. The motor M willthen be started, causing the drills to be rotated as desired, making thereby a series of holes as 'deep as is permitted hv the length of the shafts 51. The drills may then be withdrawn and the saddle shifted lengthwise of the frame to make a series of holes in a new place, or if desired another set of holes may be drilled closely adjacent to those first drilled so as to lmake a practically clear cut by the action of the drill alone. In any-A event, the cutting action inysures that a comparatively slight amount of material will be reduced toa fine form frame, and drilling devices and power means therefor carried by the saddle.

2. In a gang drill for coal, the combinationof a truck, a vertical and vertically adjustable support secured to the front end of the truck, a head, a universal connection between the head and the vertically adjustable support, a carrier frame secured in fixed position perpendicular` to the` axis of said head, a saddle movable longitudinally of said frame laterally of the line of move' i ment of the truck, drilling devices carried by the saddle, and means to lock the saddle in position on said frame.

3. In a coal drill, the combination of a truck including wheels for movement of the truck along its track, a.V vertical support secured to the front end of the truck, means carried by the truck for elevating the support, a head, a universal connection between the head and the upper end of the support serving to provide for the inclination of the axis of the head with respect to the axis of the vertical support, a carrier frame secured rigidly to said head in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the head, means between the head and the supportvserving to vary the plane of the carrier frame as desired, and drilling devices carried by and longitudinally adjustable of said frame.

4. In a coal drill, the combination of a vertical support, a T-head having its vertical axis in alinement with said support, drilling devices supported upon said head and a universal connecting means between the head and the support, said connecting means including a head plate rigidly secured to the upper end of the support, said head plate havin a hernispherical seat and a supporting ange surrounding the same, an adjusting head secured to the first mentioned head and lying mainly in a Plane perpendicular to the axis thereof, a ball secured to the two heads and fitted in said seat, and a series of adjusting screws acting between said adjusting head and the flange of the head'plate, whereby the axis of the first mentioned head may be varied as desired With respect to the axis of the support.

5. The herein described coal drill comprising an upright support, a head at the upper end of the support having a normally vertical axis, means to adjust the head as desired with respect to the vertical axis of the support, a carrier frame fixed to the frame including a plurality of spaced parhead4 and including a plurality of rigid allel bars, a guide member arallel to and spaced parallel members, a saddle supported spaced from said bars, a sacdle comprising on and movable longitudinall of said mema body embracing said bars and supported 5 bers, means to lock the sadd e in any posiupon said guide member, said body having 15 1 tion to which it may be adjusted along said a web extending between said bars in the members, and drilling means carried by said plane of said guide member, and gripping saddle.- means embracing said bars and coperating 6. The herein described supporting means With said Web to lock the saddle in position. 10 for coal drills, the same comprising a carrier DANIEL B. STAUFT. 

